We will begin by defining angels as follows: Angels are created, spiritual beings with moral judgement and high intelligence, but without physical bodies.
Angels have not always existed; they are part of the universe that God created. In a passage that refers to angels as the “host” of heaven, Ezra says, “you are the LORD, you alone; you have made the heaven, the heaven of heavens, with all their hosts…and the host of heaven worships you” (Nehemiah 9:6). Paul tells us that God created all things “visible and invisible” through Christ and for him, and then specifically includes the angelic world with the phrase “whether thrones or dominions or principalities or authorities” (Colossians 1:16).
That angels exercise moral judgement is seen in the fact that some of them sinned and fell from their positions (2 Peter 2:4; Jude 6). Their high intelligence is seen throughout Scripture as they speak to people (Matthew 28:5; Acts 12:6 – 11) and sing praise to God (Revelation 4:11; 5:11)
Scripture sometimes uses other terms for angels, such as “son of God” (Job 1:6; 2:1), “holy ones” (Psalm 89:5, 7), “Spirits” (Hebrews 1:14), “watchers” (Daniel 4:13, 17, 23), “thrones,” “dominions”, “principalities,” and “authorities” (Colossians 1:16).
There are three other specific types of heavenly beings named in Scripture. Whether we think of these as a special type of “angels”, or whether we think of them as heavenly beings distinct from angels, they are nonetheless created spiritual beings who server and worship God.
The “Cherubim”: the cherubim were given the task of guarding the entrance to the Garden of Eden (Genesis 3:24), and God himself is frequently said to be enthroned on the cherubim or to travel with the cherubim as his chariot (Psalm 18:10; Ezekiel 10:1 – 22). Over the ark of the covenant in the New Testament were two golden figures of cherubim with their wings stretched out above the ark, and it was there that God promised to come to dwell among his people: “There I will meet with you, and from above the mercy seat, from between the two cherubim that are upon the ark of testimony, I will speak with you all that I will give you in commandment for the people of Israel” (Exodus 25:22).
The “Seraphim”: Another group of heavenly beings, the seraphim, are mentioned only in Isaiah 6:2 – 7, where they continually worship the Lord and call to one another, “Holy, holy, holy is the LORD of hosts; the whole earth is full of his glory: (Isaiah 6:3).
The Living Creatures: Both Ezekiel and Revelation tell us yet of other kinds of heavenly beings known as “living Creatures” around God’s throne (Ezekiel 1:5 – 14; Revelation 4:6 – 8). With their appearances like a lion, an ox, a man, and an eagle, they are the mightiest representatives of various parts of God’s entire creation (wild beasts, domesticated animals, human beings, and birds), and they worship God continually: “Day and night they never cease to sing, ‘Holy, holy, holy, is the Lord God almighty, who was and is and is to come!’” (Revelation 4:8).
Scripture also indicates that there is rank and order among the angels. One Angel, Michael, is called the “archangel’ in Jude 9, a title that indicated rule or authority over the other angels. He is called “one of the chief princes” in Daniel 10:13. Michael also appears to be the leader in the angelic army: “Now war arose in heaven, Michael and his angels fighting against the dragon; and the dragon and his angels fought, but they were defeated” (Revelation 12:7 – 8). And Paul tells us that the Lord will return from heaven “with the archangel’s call” (1 Thessalonians 4:16). Whether this refers to Michael as the only archangel, or whether there are other archangels, Scripture does not tell us.
Scripture does clearly tell us that God sends angels for our protection: “He will give his angels charge of you to guard you in all your ways. On their hands they will bear you up, lest you dash your foot against a stone” (Psalm 91:11 – 12). But some people have gone beyond this idea of general protection and wondered if God gives a specific “guardian angel” for each individual in the world, or at least for each Christian. Support for this idea has been found in Jesus’ words about little children, “in heaven their angels always behold the face of my Father who is in heaven” (Matthew 18:10). However, our Lord may be simply saying that angels who are assigned the task of protecting little children have ready access to God’s presence. When the disciples in Acts 12:15 say that Peter’s “angel” must be knocking at the door, this does not necessarily imply belief in an individual guardian angel. It could be that an angel was guarding or caring for Peter just at that time. There seems to be, therefore, no convincing support for the idea of individual “guardian angels” in the text of Scripture.
Angels apparently have very great power. They are called “you mighty ones who do his word” (Psalm 103:20) and “powers” (Ephesians 1:21) and “dominions” and “authorities” (Colossians 1:16). Angels are seemingly “greater in might and power” than rebellious human beings (2 Peter 2:11). At least for the time of their earthly existence, human beings are made “lower than the angels” (Hebrews 2:7). Though the power of angels is great, it is certainly not infinite, but it is used to battle against the evil demonic powers under the control of Satan (Daniel 10:13; Revelation 12:7 – 8; 20:1 – 3). Nonetheless, when the Lord returns, we will be raised to a position higher than that of angels ( 1 Corinthians 6:3).
Who is the angel of the Lord? Several passages of Scripture, especially in the Old testament, speak of the angel of the Lord in a way that suggests that he is God himself taking on a human form to appear briefly to various people in the Old Testament.
In some passages “the angel of the LORD” (not “an angel of the LORD”) is spoken of as the Lord himself. So “the angel of the LORD” who found Hagar in the wilderness promises her, “I will so greatly multiply your descendants that they cannot be numbered for multitude” (Genesis 16:10), and Hagar responds by calling “the name of the LORD who spoke to her, “You are a God of seeing”’ (Genesis 16:13). Similarly, when Abraham is about to sacrifice his son Isaac, “the angel of the LORD” calls to him from heaven and says, “Now I know that you fear God, seeing you have not withheld your son, your only son, from me” (Genesis 22:12). When “the angel of God” appeared to Jacob in a dream, he said, “I am the God of Bethel, where you anointed a pillar and made a vow to me” (Genesis 31:11, 13). Again, when “the angel of the LORD” appeared to Moses in a flame of fire out of the midst of a bush, he the said, “I am the God of you father, the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob” (Exodus 3:2, 6). These are clear instances of the angel of the LORD or the angel of God appearing as God himself, perhaps more specifically as God the Son taking on a human body for a short time in order to appear to human beings.
When were angles created? All the angels must have been created before the seventh day of creation, for we read “Thus the heavens and the earth were finished, and all the host of them” (Genesis 2:1), understanding “host” to be the heavenly creatures that inhabit God’s universe). Even more explicit that this is the statement, “In six days the LORD made heaven and earth, the sea, and all that is in them, and rested the seventh day (Exodus 20:11). Therefore, all the angels were created at least by the sixth day of creation.
But, can we be more specific? There may be a hint at the creation of angelic beings on the first day of creation when we read that “in the beginning God created the heavens and the earth” (Genesis 1:1), and then immediately after we read that “the earth was without form and void” (Genesis 1:2), but with no mention of the heavens in this second verse. This may suggest that the uninhabitable state of the earth is contrasted with the heavens, where, perhaps, God had already created angelic beings and assigned them various roles and orders. This idea is made more plausible when we read that “the morning stars sand together, and all the sons of God shouted for joy” at the time when God laid the “cornerstone” of the earth and sunk its “bases” in the process of forming it (Job 38:6 – 7). If the angels (“the sons of God”) shouted for joy when God was making the earth inhabitable, this could imply that God created the angelic beings early on the first day.
However, since we have only hints in Scripture, we must remain content with the fact that God has not given us much information about the time of the creation of the angels. Further speculation, apart from clear scriptural data, would be useless. “The secret things belong to the LORD or God: but the things that are revealed belong to us and to our children for ever, that we may do all the words of this law” (Deuteronomy 29:29).
Some time before Satan tempted Eve in the garden (Genesis 3:1), a number of angels sinned and rebelled against God (2 Peter 2:4; Jude 6). This event occurred apparently after the sixth day of creation when “God saw everything that he had made, and behold, it was very good” (Genesis 1:31), but beyond this, Scripture gives us no further information.
Scripture makes it clear that God wants us to be aware of the existence of angels and the nature of their activity. We should not assume that its teaching about angels has nothing to do with our lives today. Rather, there are several ways in which our Christian lives will be enriched by an awareness of the existence and ministry of angels in the world, even today.
When we come before God in worship, we are joining not only with the great company of believers who have died and come into God’s presence in heaven, “the spirits of just men made perfect,” but also with a great throng of angels, “innumerable angels in festal gathering” (Hebrews 12:22 – 23). Though we do not ordinarily see or hear evidence of this heavenly worship, it certainly enriches our sense of reverence and joy in God’s presence if we appreciate the fact that angels join us in the worship of God.
We should also be aware that angels are watching our obedience or disobedience to God through the day. Even if we think our sins are done in secret and bring grief to no one else, we should be sobered by the thought that perhaps even hundreds of angels witness our disobedience and are grieved. On the other hand, when we are discouraged and think that our faithful obedience to God is witnessed by no one and is an encouragement to no one, we can be comforted by the realization that perhaps hundreds of angels witness our lonely struggle, daily “Longing to look” at the way Christ’s great salvation finds expression in our lives.
The Bible warns against receiving false doctrine from supposed angles: “But even if we, or an angle from heaven, should preach to you a gospel contrary to that which we preached to you, let him be accursed” (Galatians 1:8). Paul makes this warning because he knows that there is a possibility of deception. He says, “Even Satan disguises himself as an angel of light” (2 Corinthians 11:14). Similarly, the lying prophet who deceived the man of God in 1 Kings 13 claimed, “An angel spoke to me by the word of the LORD, saying, “Bring him back with you into your house that he may eat bread and drink water’” (1 Kings 13:18). Yet the text of Scripture immediately adds in the same verse, “But he lied to him.”
These are instances of false doctrine or guidance being conveyed by angels. It is interesting that these examples show the clear possibility of satanic deception tempting us to disobey the clear teachings of Scripture or the clear commands of God. These warnings should keep any Christian from being fooled.
“Worship of angles” (Colossians 2:18) was one of the false doctrines being taught at Colossae. Moreover, an angel speaking to John in the book of Revelation warns John not to worship him: “You must not do that! I am a fellow servant with you and your brethren who hold the testimony of Jesus. Worship God” (Revelation 19:10).
Nor should we pray to angels. We are to pray only to God, who alone is omnipotent and thus able to answer prayer and who alone is omniscient and therefore able to hear the prayers of all his people at once. By virture of omnipotence and omniscience, God the Son and God the Holy Spirit are also worthy of being prayed to, but this is not true of any other being. Paul warns us against thinking that any other “mediator” can come between us and God, “for there is one God, and there is one mediator between God and men, the man Christ Jesus” (1 Timothy 2:5). If we were to pray to angels, it would be implicitly attributing to them a status of equal to God, which we must not do. There is no example in Scripture of anyone praying to any specific angel or asking angels for help.